Hunter Winnie

Mr. Salow
English 11
January 18, 2017
Research Rough Draft
A frequent amount of people and certain groups have come to the conclusion that schools
with any dress code policy have a higher educational standard and that children are smarter
because the school has a dress code policy. Certain articles have shown experiments conducted
on how education relates to dress code. a number of these authors use ethos to come off as an
assertive individual that is convincing in a way that tries to prove their point that student dress
code is better.
the author uses ethos to say how his/her statistics are legitimate arguments even though
no real statistics and facts are shown. The author basically says a reputable source and then just
moves on to his/her next point. Their is no real evidence shown, the author doesnt show how the
experiment was done or what were the results, the author only says what type of experiment was
done. For example an author might say a recent study was conducted that showed that children
who attend schools that have a dress code policy tend to be smarter. The author didn't say who
conducted the study or what the actual numbers are. Right at the beginning of the sentence the
author decided to leave out who conducted the study which leaves the reader to believe that the
people who conducted the study or experiment are most likely a non-credible source. The next
problem is that the study didnt show how old the children were. Usually their is a gap between
students in their first few year, later on kids tend to bridge the gap. So if the study was taken on
four year olds, the study would not be credible. The last problem is that the author uses a

generalized term of school. We as readers don't know if it is a public school, charter school, or
private school which could make a big difference. Private schools and some charter schools tend
to hire more educated teachers than public schools, so if the author uses the evidence that shows
how a private school with a dress code policy is better than a public school without a dress code
policy than the experiment was conducted wrong which is probably why the authors chose to
leave the conductor of the experiment out of the work.
the author manipulates the words from the evidence to get his/her point across. The
author could just as simply change one word and it could change the whole meaning of the
sentence. If the author were to say private school would be a better school of choice over public
school then the meaning of the sentence would be that public schools aren't as good as private
schools. If the author were to say private school could be a better school of choice over public
school then the meaning of the sentence isn't drastically changed but now there's a chance that
public schools could be better than private schools which could help the authors point. Because
the author changed one word in evidence, the outcome of this evidence is changed which could
lead the reader to come to a false conclusion. False conclusion lead people to believe that public
schools could be better than private schools which could make private schools earn less money.
A couple of authors tend to just not have enough evidence shown at all to support their
claim that students that come from schools that have a student dress code tend to be more
positive and have better grades than students who don't come from schools that have a dress code
says (Lumsden, 3). The average person that has no prior knowledge of when and where and on
what conditions this experiment was conducted would not know that there's not enough
information to support their thesis. The reader would have to dig through their article and find
the numbers and come to their own conclusion that their isn't enough evidence shown for that

particular experiment. The author cant say private schools are better than public schools
because the students get better grades because they have a dress code policy because the
experiment did not give enough information. The reader doesnt know if the students are getting
the same work assignments and if they weren't, then their would be a faulty control which would
exemplify the experiment. If the private school the gave an assignment for class work but they
gave the same assignment to kids in public school as homework then that would also exemplify
the experiment because a faulty control. It is very hard to make this experiment prove that
students that come from a dress code policy school have a better education than students who
don't come from one but it can be done. It will need extensive work and a complex experiment to
come to any conclusion. Even if it would come to any conclusion, the numbers could still be
skewed by certain factors like after school activities and the numbers could have such a small
difference in them that no conclusion could really be made. Overall this experiment is next to
impossible to perform.
One author named Howard Johnson believes that there could be some major legal issues
brought up by a school have a student dress code policy. He said that While dress is broadly
protected as a form of free speech under the first amendment of the Constitution, the courts have
recognized the special role of schools in American life and the unique needs of the school
environment. As a result, most states have laws that permit schools to regulate student dress as
long as the purposes of doing so are clearly connected to student safety and the maintenance of
an orderly school environment. which basically means that he is trying to say that unless it has
something that is beneficial to the school and just for looks, then they can't have it. He argues
that it could actually cause problems that could hurt the students success. For example, if a
school were to enforce a dress code policy to all of the boys to wear a collared shirt and tie, then

all of the parents would have to go out and buy multiple shirts and ties so that way their child
could succeed in school. The problem that could occur would be that some families couldn't
afford to go out and buy multiple pieces of expensive clothing at once, thus putting a burden on
that family which could harm that students success. Johnston then added on to say how The
expression of religious beliefs on T-shirts, jewelry or other clothing and accessories. Typically,
these issues arise when school officials contend that the expression of religious beliefs may
offend others of a different religion and may even lead to conflict or violence. which means that
these dress code policies could affect freedom of speech. Johnston tries to persuade the reader by
tapping into their ethical and logical side by concluding that schools with a student dress code
policy could be breaking the law and putting a burden on the family of the child. He also tries to
say how it could affect a person's freedom of speech. These points that Johnston makes would
make most readers turn against the idea of public schooling because he only states the bad side
of student dress codes rather than pointing out the good and the bad sides which would leave the
reader to form his/her own opinion.
Lastly some authors will try and persuade the reader by convincing the reader that
schools that inhibit a student dress code policy are more professional and should be treated as
such. The authors will argue that if the reader doesnt or hasnt attended a school with a dress
code policy then they could be greatly hurt when it is time to find a job. These authors are using
pathos to their advantage. Everyone wants to be successful in life and the authors argue that if
they don't attend one of these select schools then they will not be successful. One author says
how to not wear professional attire at schools is like not wearing professional attire at your job.
but what the author decides to leave out is that some people don't need to wear professional
attire to get a job and some people don't have a job. The author is trying to tap into the reader's

emotional side by saying that because it tries and make the reader feel as if he/she doesn't go to a
school with a professional style student dress code policy then he?she might not get a job that
would require a professional dress code. The author is also assuming that jobs with a
professional style dress code are the most successful jobs in a sense that the author doesn't
mention any other type of job that wouldnt require professional attire but are also deemed a
successful job. These authors that are trying to use the reader's own emotions against them don't
have a real facts to give. All they are trying to do is convince you into believing in what he/she
has to say with the least amount of effort as possible.
There is a trend in this world and the trend is to convince people to believe in the same
ideas that they believe in. sometimes these people try and use big words to try and make a person
feel that if they can use big words then they must be right because they don't know those world.
Others will try and convince you to believe in their idea by breaking things down to an emotional
standpoint. Each emotional standpoint are very different but both try and do the same thing, and
that is to convince the reader to his?her idea without any real work or evidence given which
could possibly be the most effective ways of convincing someone. Lastly an author might try and
show you tons of evidence but the author will not show what the numbers mean which could
lead the reader to come up with a false conclusion. Whatever way an author may try and
persuade the reader ,in the end it is up to the reader to come up with their own opinion on that
certain topic. It is up to you, as the reader, to come up with your own opinion on how student
dress code affects how students will succeed in life and how it affects their overall learning
ability.

Works cited
Lumsden, Linda. Uniform and Dress Code Policies. Eric Digests, 05-00-2001
Workman, jane. Use of the Means/Ends Test to Evaluate Public School Dress-Code
Policies. Eric Digests, 2008
Lumsden, Linda. Uniform and Dress Code Policies Extended. Eric Digests, 2002
Lane, Kenneth. You Aren't What You Wear. Eric Digests, 1994
Workman, Jane. Dress Code Relevance in Schools. Eric Digest, 2008
Johnston, Howard. Student Dress Code and Uniforms. Eric Digests, 2009
Nicholson, Nikkie. Similarities between students receiving dress code violations and discipline
referrals at newport junior high school. Eric Digest. 2007
Taylor, Kelly. What Not to Wear. Eric Digests, 2009